Kaan Swacc walked slowly forward in the shadowy area in which he had captured Randidly. Other than the ground beneath their feet, it was an area of absolute darkness. His footsteps on the strange stone floor echoed outward, a cool counterpart to Randidly’s laughter in the isolated space. The shimmering, metal skin of Kaan Swacc was dull and lifeless in this dark area. But Kaan’s leering mouth was open and without teeth, confirming his identity.

Kaan’s eyes were narrowed as he approached Randidly. “How? How did you subdue the Aether Mines without activating them?”

Randidly didn’t bother to answer. Instead, his Grim Intuition rapidly examined the surrounding area. As Randidly and Neveah had suspected, even though they had been near to each other when the suppression arrived, only Randidly had been taken to this strange area. It was clear that the production of this space was a Skill and one with a pretty focused target. As the source of Nether, Randidly had been taken away.

For whatever reason, it hadn’t occurred to Randidly that Acri, who had been slithering around and sulking after being retrieved from its murder spree by Randidly in preparation for this fight, wouldn’t be pulled along with him. Which was an oversight.

That meant that the first portion of this fight, before Neveah succeeded in piercing into this area of suppression, would need to be fought without a spear. That made Randidly scrunch his forehead with worry. His heartbeat was a steady drumbeat now, his veins spreading the tremors of that powerful muscle contraction through his whole body.

I suppose I’ll need to rely on physical power then… Let’s put this arm through its paces.

“Even if you don’t answer, it won’t matter,” Kaan had no teeth to bear as he walked forward, but he did pull back his lips and reveal the dark maw of his mouth. The sight of the toothless hole filled Randidly with revulsion. Still, Randidly could tell how chaotic the Xyrt Brigade member’s emotions were by the fluctuations in his image. But with every step, Kaan controlled himself and focused. His eyes were locked on Randidly. “I’ll get my answers from your broken soulspace when I rip you to shreds.”

Kaan’s image became suddenly oppressive. Floating in the air around Kaan Swacc, strange pyramids of shimmering brass and silver turned over slowly. When they brushed against each other, a deep resonance blasted outward. Each time it hit him, Randidly’s breathing grew heavier. Even though it wasn’t currently being weaponized, it was the image of a Special Investigator of the Xyrt Brigade.

After dueling with him in his Fatepiece several times, Randidly was beginning to get a general understanding of Kaan’s image. In a way, he was similar to Randidly; he took his time working up to his strength. But whereas Randidly was just foolish, Kaan warmed up to fighting in a very purposeful manner. Plus, his Skill Levels heavily emphasized defense, giving him that option.

Although it was in a manner completely alien to Earth, if Randidly had to describe Kaan Swacc’s image, it was with one word: instrument. And the first few exchanges of a fight for him were a very focused tuning. Those discordant resonances resulted from Kaan brushing away the dust.

Between this fully revealed image and Lady Iellaya, Randidly wasn’t sure who was more powerful. And this was the foe that he had to defeat to protect the Earth…!

I can’t stop shaking. Randidly looked down at his hands. Even his metallic left arm was trembling. His fingers tightened into fists. A constant bubble of excitement filled his limbs. Did I really miss this so much…?

BA-DUMP, BA-DUMP, BA-DUMP, BA-DUMP.

Designing Kharon Academy and guiding the Earth is important… but some part of me loves this violence… I shouldn’t try and deny that part of myself in the future. I need to accept my desires.

“Have you nothing to say for yourself, spy?” Kaan Swacc said again in the silence. He stopped walking forward, staring at Randidly Ghosthound.

Randidly didn’t bother to answer. Instead, his smile stretched wider across his face. His three images burned in his chest, each wanting to manifest and contest the space against Swacc’s image. But Randidly kept his images back for now. From his previous battles in this space using the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night, the more Randidly used his images here the more Kaan was able to zero in on the specific image and damage it.

The tuning of Kaan’s image was extremely dangerous.

The first goal of this fight was to buy time for Neveah to rip open a hole and liberate Randidly. Randidly believed that it was possible for his Philosopher’s Key to open a hole, but like when the Nexus infrastructure around Earth was damaged, it was difficult to do so while inside the space. To the point that Randidly did not believe Kaan Swacc would give him the time to make the attempt.

So his role was just to buy time. Neveah would break the seal and restore Randidly’s full fighting potential. The fewer of Randidly’s images that Kaan had the chance to tune to before that time, the better. Plus, she will bring Acri…

As though sensing his thoughts, Sulfur tightened around Randidly’s torso like a hug. With a small smile on his face, Randidly patted the dark grey armor. I know buddy. And I’m very thankful that you’re here.

Kaan Swacc’s eyes narrowed at Randidly’s blithe reaction; it was clear that he didn’t like being ignored. But both of them realized that talking would soon become pointless. Because as Revelation energy surged around Randidly’s body in preparation for the fight that was about to erupt, the dominant emotion wafting off of Kaan Swacc was excitement.

The two men’s eyes met. Kaan showed a smile with no teeth, metallic pyramids tumbling in the air around him. Randidly grinned widely, every muscle in his body gradually coming to life.

BADUMP-BADUMP-BADUMP-BADUMP-BADUMP

Kaan waved his hand and the metallic pyramids spun around him him. These six pyramids were each a different metal, ranging from silver, copper, brass, gold, pewter, and a sixth metal that Randidly didn’t recognize. Although, perhaps he truly didn’t know any of the metals, but they just looked similar to their earthly equivalents…

With a strange humming noise, Kaan Swacc angled his torso almost horizontally and rushed forward. Randidly’s emerald eyes flashed and the Revelation energy around his body thickened. From his few practice battles, the fact that Kaan was going for a direct assault was not a good sign; it meant that he was taking Randidly as a serious threat from the get go. It seemed that the thick Nether Randidly had released behind Neveah’s barrier had caught Kaan’s attention.

Randidly pressed his foot into the ground and accelerated forward to meet Kaan Swacc.

Congratulations! Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold (T) has grown to Level 286!

Congratulations! Your Skill Monstrosity’s Appalling Physicality (A) has grown to Level 299!

After Randidly had broken through the veil of physical prowess left by the Nexus, it was almost too easy to tear through the limitations of physical space. As such, his form seemed to flicker as he rushed forward to meet Kaan Swacc, covering two thirds of the space between them. Kaan’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t panic.

Kaan’s left arm speared outward and Randidly ducked under it so quickly that he left an after-image to be impaled by Kaan’s attack. Just as quickly, Randidly surged upwards with a vicious uppercut that Kaan leaned backward to avoid.

Unwilling to let this initial clash go without striking any blows, Randidly’s newly refined left arm whipped around in a hook aiming for Kaan’s temple. But as though he had predicted the attack, Kaan’s arm was already rising to defend against the strike. A true metal limb smashed against Kaan’s metal looking forearm.

Doooooooooonnnnnnnnggggg.

Randidly winced at the resulting resonance that dispersed a portion of his force and turned it against him, but the strike also made Kaan take a half step backward. Relying on the momentum of his thundering heart, Randidly moved his right arm. It practically teleported upward from his side to a cocked position right below his armpit and then ripped forward to slam against Kaan’s chest.

The speed was just enough that Kaan hadn’t been able to mobilize his image in his defense. As such, his mouth twisted in a scowl and his eyes flashed. As soon as Randidly saw that reaction, he ducked down and twisted three times in quick succession to avoid the floating pyramids that cut toward him.

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance (L) has grown to Level 255!

The gold, silver, and copper pyramids smashed into the stone ground of this isolated zone, making a small triangle around him. Randidly’s eyes twitched as those attacks cracked the ground before floating back up into the air. From fighting here in the past, he understood how sturdy the ground was.

Being hit by those pyramids was the reason for many of his losses in the practice matches.

Randidly hopped lightly backward, knowing that the battle was about to change. The silver-blue pewter pyramid began to slowly spin above Swacc’s head, beginning to glow. That glow began to cover Swacc’s body. As expected, he began to tune. With an extremely quick movement, Swacc reached up and whipped away non-existent dirt from the spot on his chest where he had been struck by Randidly. Then he lowered his shoulders and charged forward.

Unwilling to back down, Randidly charged forward to meet Kaan. But he didn’t miss how this time, Kaan Swacc covered a sliver more distance than he did when they smashed together, trading blows.

DONNNNNNNNNG!

This collision was much more powerful than the previous one, due to the physical enhancement that Kaan was currently using to keep pace with Randidly. And to test the limits of the metal, Randidly had met Kaan’s palm with his own from his left arm. His lips curled back to reveal his teeth as he took a step back from the clash. Despite the fact that the damage coming through the arm should be reduced by half, the force Randidly experienced made even his powerful heartbeat stutter.

Just like that, Kaan Swacc had adjusted to rival his physical power.

But the jolt of pain from the clash was exactly what Randidly needed to push his body into overdrive.

BADUMPBADUMPBADUMPBADUMPBADUMPBADUMP

When Randidly exhaled, his breath came out his nose as two blasts of steam. The skin of his body began to redden as the blood pumping through his veins reached temperatures that were scalding. After shaking himself slightly, Randidly lowered his center of gravity and prepared to increase the speed of his assault.

For a second, he considered activating his images now to inflict some harsher damage against Kaan while the man adjusted to the limits of Randidly’s body. But just as quickly, Randidly decided against that. His current goal was only to buy time for Neveah to arrive. That was when Randidly would be able to strike a decisive blow. For now, he would simply rely on Skills.

So Randidly didn’t deploy his image, he just released a breath. The muscles along his arms and legs tightened. When Kaan Swacc lashed out again to take advantage of his powerful first strike, Randidly hopped backward.

The five metallic pyramids, other than the already tuned pewter pyramid, swirled around Kaan as he surged forward, perhaps a meter above his head. After creating some space, Randidly twisted around and accelerated back toward the metallic man. With his body at its peak state, he ripped through the intervening space and smashed his hand into Kaan’s stomach.

Congratulations! Your Skill Cosmis Necessity (M) has grown to Level 244!

Kaan grunted, but Randidly could feel that it was a shallow blow without Kaan even activating a defensive Skill. Plus, his reactions were quick. With his sharpened senses, Kaan was already bringing his hands around in two swirling defensive passes. Yet Randidly pulled his strike back just as quickly, releasing a sonic boom as he broke the speed of sound.

But as the humanoid stabilized himself, Randidly didn’t miss the way that Kaan’s eyes widened. Likely he immediately recognized that Randidly had pushed back the physical limitation of the System. That shock and recognition gave Randidly the opportunity to hop upward to the left, press his foot against Kaan’s floating silver pyramid, then flex the muscles of his leg to throw himself down in a brutal strike toward Kaan’s temple. His body exploded into motion.

Man is Proud, but the Chimera Takes.

Again, Randidly moved quickly enough that as he struck Kaan, the humanoid wasn’t able to activate his defensive Skill in time. After the impact, even Randidly’s empowered hand ached. But he ignored the sensation. Kaan’s neck twisted and Randidly slammed his opponent’s torso down toward the ground as he transferred the domineering force. Although he used his hand in the attack, it was still a strike with the full strength of his empowered body. Unfortunately, the sound of Kaan striking the ground transformed his face into a sour expression.

Donnngggggggg.

Quick response, Randidly grinned down at Kaan and lowered his hands to his sides as his opponent slapped the ground and practically bounced himself back up to his feet. The resonance of the pewter pyramid intensified as Kaan whipped around to face Randidly, who was at that point once again leaping up to make use of Kaan’s pyramids.

Just as Kaan’s toothless mouth twisted upward in a sneer of triumph, Randidly lowered his leg from its path to step on the brass pyramid. Unluckily for you, I’ve already made that mistake in the past. Cosmic Necessity.

Rather than relying on the pyramids, Randidly conjured a cosmic orb and immediately used it to launch himself down at Kaan. But of course, having seen the maneuver in the past meant that Kaan was slowly accelerating to meet Randidly; when Randidly thrust downward with his palm, Kaan’s gleaming hands were already waiting.

It was annoying to admit, but Kaan would quickly overwhelm Randidly in grappling if it came down to that. Which meant that while Randidly was buying time, he wouldn’t try to close the distance or compete too directly with strength.

Chimeric Avoidance.

He twisted to avoid the grasping hands then took a step back. With that step, Randidly conjured two Cosmic orbs immediately and threw himself forward as the movements of Kaan’s hands ceased for a brief moment.

As Randidly rushed forward at Kaan, he opened his mouth and unleashed a blast of steam. It wouldn’t truly distract Kaan, but it was quite amusing to see his expression shift to bristling with fury while the blast of steam obscured his features. And in that second, Randidly pressed his right hand against Kaan’s chest. He reached into the void for something that would hit Kaan and hurt.

All Else Succumbs, Yet Time Whirls the Earth.

Congratulations! Your Skill All Else Succumbs, Yet TIme Whirls (M) the Earth has grown to Level 170!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill All Else Succumbs, Yet Time Whirls the Earth (M) has grown to Level 179!

Randidly felt his being stretch to the point that he earned several Skill Levels in one go. The strain of using this Skill was still there, as Randidly’s consciousness was shredding into two timelines, then four when nothing came up, then eight, then sixteen. Yet he was happy to note that improving his physical body did a lot to mitigate the draining side-effects of its usage.

What he also didn’t like was the way that in that frozen moment as he searched through time, Randidly saw the metal pyramid he didn’t recognize begin to glow and resonate as it tuned to the Skill. But before whatever that reaction was, Randidly found a timeline where he had followed the path of rot down to entropy and ruin. For a second, that other Randidly stood there pressing his hand against Kaan’s chest. The other Randidly raised his head and laughed.

It was just a flicker, but an image manifested behind this alternate Randidly for a brief moment. It was the World Tree, but one broken and corrupted by Armageddon. The charred bark was cracked and oozing black tar. The tips of its vast network of branches were pointed upward like the pitchforks of a lynching mob. The roots were pale and eerie, like ghosts in old polaroid photos. The image was just as big as Randidly’s Yggdrasil and cast a long shadow even in this isolated place.

Then the true Randidly was wrenched back into place as the Skill finished. Sweat dripped down Randidly’s brow and he struggled to remain standing. Perhaps because of that brief moment of manifesting another Randidly’s image, his mind was slightly bleary. The mental drain of this use was extremely high.

Luckily, Kaan Swacc was worse. As he staggered backward and hissed out discordant notes, a black handprint remained on his chest. The edges of the mark sizzled. It took him a few steps to regain his footing and then he stood tall and glared hatefully at Randidly.

Randidly grinned back. But as all of the pyramids around Kaan began to glow, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

During the practice fights… this always happened. There would always be a point where he lost control… and after that, it was very hard to fight him without relying on Nether. So Neveah… I hope you hurry.